Rise in foreign students at Polish universities

Close to 36,000 foreigners are currently studying at Polish universities, marking an increase of almost 25 percent compared with the previous academic year.

Photo: GlowimagesPhoto: Glowimages

Photo: Glowimages

However, Poland is still lagging behind in this sphere in comparison with other EU countries.

According to data obtained by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, foreign students registered in Poland have come from 149 different countries.

The largest group is of Ukrainians, who make up 42 percent of all foreign students based in Poland. The number of Ukrainians has risen five-fold since 2008.

Although Poland's universities have a distinctly low proportion of foreign students compared with other EU countries (bottom with Croatia), several factors are contributing to the upward trend.

Firstly, the costs of studying and living in Poland are considerably lower than in many western European countries. A year-long stint at a public university in Poland typically costs between 2000 and 4000 euros, although it is more for Medicine.

Meanwhile, universities are offering an increasingly wide array of courses in English (over 600 courses at present). (nh)